Women's Volleyball

Princeton Named League Favorite in 2018 Volleyball Preseason Poll

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Princeton was picked to win its fourth-straight Ivy League title in the 2018 Ivy League Volleyball Preseason Media Poll. 

The Tigers, who have represented the League in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments, received 14-of-17 first-place votes and accumulated 133 points to top the inaugural edition. In search of a program-best fourth-straight League championship, Princeton will rely heavily on its vaunted junior class of setter Jessie Harris, right-side hitter Maggie O’Connell, outside hitter Devon Peterkin and outside hitter Natasha Skov. 

The quartet has combined to claim five All-Ivy honors, a Rookie of the Year selection (O’Connell) and a Player of the Year nod (O’Connell) over the past two seasons. The Tigers also return a pair of Second Team All-Ivy middle blockers in seniors Nnenna Ibe and Caroline Sklaver. 

Princeton narrowly edged 2017 co-champion Yale, the only team to return a pair of First Team All-Ivy selections from a year ago in senior libero Kate Swanson and sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Attar. The pair joined O’Connell as postseason award winners in 2017, claiming Defensive Player of the Year (Swanson) and Rookie of the Year (Attar) accolades. The Bulldogs tallied the final three first-place votes and 118 points to rank second in the preseason ledger.  

Two years removed from back-to-back Ivy League crowns, Harvard sits third in the poll with 97 points, while a resurgent Cornell side is listed fourth with 79 points. The Crimson and Big Red tied for third in the conference standings in 2017—the highest finish for Cornell since 2006. 

Rounding out the poll were Penn with 68 points, Columbia with 49 points, Dartmouth with 48 points and Brown with 20 points. 

Princeton (2015, 2016, 2017) and Yale (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017) have combined to capture at least a share of the last eight Ivy League titles. The meeting of the reigning co-champions on Friday, Oct. 26, at Yale will be broadcast live on ESPNU—one of just 29 NCAA volleyball matches to be televised on ESPNU this season. 

The 2018 Ivy League volleyball season kicks off on Friday, August 31, with a full weekend slate of non-conference action. The Ivy League is coming off a 2017 campaign in which it boasted a .560 non-conference winning percentage, its second-straight year with a winning non-conference mark.